The “King Abdullah Financial District” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, currently under construction, will become the new Middle East Stock Exchange and a financial hub for the entire Gulf Region. It is an area of approximately 7 square kilometres in the heart of Riyadh and there are plans to erect approximately 50 high-rise, multi use buildings by 2015. The district will be truly multi cultural, environmentally sympathetic and fully inclusive.
Working in joint venture with the manufacturer AdArt Medyan Signs of Riyadh, we have been resolving the complex issues surrounding the signage scheme for these buildings. Each building must be different, but all must be high quality, utilise a diverse range of materials and be linked by their communication style and content.
The processing, drawing, negotiation, submission and approvals involved in the construction design surrounding these multiple projects in the initial phase of packages has been a complex task. The communication issues involved between client, main contractor, client’s design consultants, main contractor’s design consultants and suppliers have been further complicated due to differing time zones, locations and languages.
With U.S. and U.K. designers specifying materials and processes unavailable or unheard of in Saudi Arabia we have been given great challenges to rework and adapt specifications to still meet with the client’s aspirations and yet be manufactured, on the whole, locally.
The signage is now being manufactured for the first buildings and our role in Riyadh will be to continue with the same process of construction and design prototyping as further works packages progress.
Source:
http://www.wearemsd.com/portfolio/ki...istrict-riyadh